Senators get back to .500 with 4-3 win over Panthers
The Senators finished the night with their first .500 record since beginning the season with no wins and no losses, and got yet another win with a dramatic fashion.
The Senators dominated the Panthers for the majority of the first twenty minutes, outshooting the Cats 15-7. Unfortunately, the Panthers got the only goal of the period on a long bomb from Jason Garrison.
The Senators evened things up 1-1 in the second period when Daniel Alfredsson sniped one top-shelf during a delayed penalty call, but the Panthers regained the lead only a few minutes later off of a very pretty Tomas Fleischmann goal. That didn't end the second period scoring, though, as Stephane Da Costa picked up his second goal of the year on yet another delayed penalty for the Florida Panthers.
The Senators continued to pour it on, outshooting the Panthers 15-6 in the third period. With just under 3 minutes left in the game, the Senators got their first lead on a great shot from Colin Greening. It was short lived, unfortunately, as the Panthers managed to tie the game up with their goalie pulled with just 48 seconds left in the game.
The game looked destined for overtime, but then it happened. Again. Just like the game against the Blue Jackets, the Senators found a way to get a last second goal as Nick Foligno managed to pounce on a rebound that was set up by a Daniel Alfredsson one-timer from a nifty pass by David Rundblad. How much time was left? About 3.5 seconds.
Sens Hero: Daniel Alfredsson
The Captain had a goal and an assist on the night, and the game winner was created in large part because of his excellent work in the attacking zone. He led by example yet again tonight, and was a huge part in the Senators' victory.
Sens Hero: Stephane Da Costa
Da Costa started the season as a pleasant surprise for the Senators, but in recent games had become invisible playing on the fourth line. With Zibanejad sent back to Sweden, Da Costa was given another opportunity with better linemates, and he did not let it go to waste. Da Costa had a goal and was a team high +3 on the night.
Honourable Mentions: Sergei Gonchar, David Rundblad
Gonchar and Rundblad each had an assist on the night, and Gonchar had 4 shots on the night. Gonchar, in particular, just continues to look better, and was particularly effective in using his body tonight.
Sens Zeroes: Jesse Winchester, Zenon Konopka
The fourth line of Jesse Winchester, Zenon Konopka, and Erik Condra just never seemed to mesh all night, and spent most of the game skating around frantically in their own zone. Condra avoids zero status because he showed some good flashes when out there with other linemates (including a nice assist on Da Costa's goal), but Konopka and Winnie both had off nights.
Sens Killer: Jacob Markstrom
The Swedish rookie netminder had a solid night in net for the Panthers, turning aside 34 shots and keeping the Panthers in the game. With his size (6'6"!) and athletic ability, you can tell that he's doing a good job emulating his idol Robin Lehner.
Random Stats:
- Chris Phillips led all players in hits with 5.
- Erik Karlsson led all Senators in time on ice with 24:38. Second was Milan Michalek with 20:03.
- Jared Cowen led in shorthanded time on ice with 4:47 of penalty kill time.
- Cowen is the only Senators player to suit up for more than four games and have no points to show for it. Even Nikita Filatov had an assist in his two games.
- Zack Smith won only 2 of 11 faceoffs, giving him an ugly 18% faceoff percentage.
- The Senators outshot the Panthers 38-25 on the night.
Highlights:
